I took a long time to drive across the country to follow my dream of being a photographer. Most people make the drive from Minneapolis to Los Angeles in like three days. They go like madmen, dashing across the miles in a rush to get to where they think they want to be.
Two weeks. That's how long I took. Well, three, but I don't count the week I spent with my best friend and his family. Why hurry if you don't have to? I mean, how many times in your life will you drive across the country through some of the most beautiful landscape around. I was lucky, too. To be driving in a large van with a mattress in the back, so I could save money on hotels/motels and instead do a lot of car camping. But that's a different story.
The several days I spent at the Grand Canyon in Arizona were amazing. Waking up to the unquestionable grandeur of a mile deep canyon literally a few steps away cannot be matched...except for the time I came on the top of a mountain. The day I shot this I was following the footsteps of a trip my family and I took a few years before, the South Kaibob trail.
From just this one hike there are dozens of stories. But a constant through my entire hike, both up and down from Skeleton Point, was the mule train. On the way down it was the pack train, on the way up it was people. The dogged plod of mules and horses on a path they'd taken a thousand times before. The relaxed but bored look of the wranglers, the excited but slightly pained faces of those having ridden way too long stretching muscles they didn't normally stretch.
Closing my eyes and just feeling brought me back, my mind tried to imagine what it was like when people traveled, not for sightseeing, but to get somewhere. The hot unrelenting sun, an occasionally breeze, the ever-present thirst, the weight of baggage and responsibility that any false moves could spell the end for your or the people you're with. The frustrated heavy breathes of laden mules interjecting their thoughts every couple of steps...
I hope everyone takes a chance and tries exploring. I can't remember a single journey I've taken that didn't result in a lesson that improved my life. And, I'm sure many other travelers would say the same thing. You don't have to launch out of your comfort zone into break-neck speed or do-or-die adventures. Baby steps are cool.
But, I warn you, it's addictive. Soon you'll find yourself plotting your next trip, getting bored quick and quicker with the mundane...
Be well everyone!
Michael
My submission for the Saturday #monomad competition: Saturday - Silhouettes
Thank you for hosting and working to build the community
More pics from the Grand Canyon coming!
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